I was surprised yesterday to hear the Florida Department of Transportation had purchased snow plows, salt and de-icing chemicals for Northwest Florida.

An agency spokesman explained the purchase was in response to January’s unprecedented ice storm, which caused havoc on our roadways for three days.

I haven’t added the costs but a rough eyeball estimate falls somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000.

I wonder if this was a reasonable use of taxpayers’ money.

I’ve lived in Fort Walton Beach 50 years and never in those 50 years did we experience a winter storm like the 2014 ice storm. I agree its effects on the area were rampant and tumultuous. But did they warrant the purchase of expensive equipment, especially when the state budget is so squeezed vital programs go unfunded?

I would say no.

The purchase of snowplows is, to my mind, especially questionable. We did not have much snow, if any, during January’s storm. We had ice. Snowplows don’t remove ice, and if they do I’d say there’s a good chance they also remove asphalt.

In a column earlier this year I mentioned the possibility of testing sand as a way to combat ice buildup in a winter storm. Has that been done, or did FDOT simply opt for the obvious?

In the end, the chances of our area experiencing another ice storm, especially on the magnitude of January’s event, are not very good – certainly not $50,000 good.